Disphyma australe subsp. australe
Common names
horokaka, native ice plant, New Zealand ice plant
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Trailing, succulent herb. Stem terete, glabrous. Short shoots prostrate, rooting freely at nodes. Leaves 3-angled, linear-lanceolate to oblong, acute, often mucronate, tapering to connate base, 6-40 × 4-9 mm; margins entire, smooth, very rarely with a few papillae towards the distal end of the keel. Flowers 20-40 mm diameter. Sepal keel entire, smooth. Petals uniformly white to deep pink, in 3-5 rows, 10-30 mm long. Stamens 4-6 mm long; inner filaments hairy at base. Stigmas (5)-6-8-(10). Capsule valves 5-10, with parallel or ± divergent expanding keels; placental tubercle rounded or 0. Seeds brown, obovoid, rugose, c. 1 mm long.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from the other New Zealand species by the leaf margin and sepal keel smooth (very rarely papillate near the apex), 3-angled, linear-lanceolate to oblong, acute and often mucronate leaves, and petals in 3-5 rows. The Kermadec endemic subsp. stricticaule differs by the short shoots mostly ascending, rarely rooting at nodes, papillate leaves and sepal keels, and 5 rarely 6 capsule valves.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Three Kings, North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands
Habitat
Coastal (rarely inland). Mostly on cliff faces, rock stacks, and boulder/cobble beaches, more rarely in saltmarsh and estuaries. Often in petrel scrub on offshore islands, and extending into coastal forest around petrel burrows. Occasionally on limestone or sandstone cliffs in lowland forest (Western Waikato).
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Mesembryanthemum australe W.T.Aiton
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Present throughout the year
Fruiting
Present throughout the year
Life cycle and dispersal
Fleshy capsules are dispersed by frugivory and possibly wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from rooted pieces and fresh seed. Does well in free draining soil within a sunny site. Not fussy about soil fertility or moisture regime. Some cultivar selection might be necessary as there is a diverse range of foliage colours, and flower colour ranges from white to fully pink. Forms natural intergeneric hybrids with both Carpobrotus chilensis and C. edulis.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
UPL: Obligate Upland
Rarely is a hydrophyte, almost always in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
disphyma: Two-nodule
australe: Southern, from the Latin australis
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
DISASA
Chromosome number
2n = 36
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | Regionally Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Webb CJ, Sykes WR, Garnock-Jones PJ. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Christchurch, NZ. 1365 p.
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
Attribution
Description modified from: Webb, C. J.; Sykes, W. R.; Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. 4. Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R. Forms natural intergeneric hybrids with both Carpobrotus chilensis and C. edulis.
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Disphyma australe subsp. australe Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/disphyma-australe-subsp-australe/ (Date website was queried)